1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing polyether carbonate surface active materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, polyether carbonates can be prepared by carbonatizing and esterifying a polyether such as diethylene glycol with phosgene to form a polyethercarbonate chain but this preparation process has little or no industrial value because of the use of noxious phosgene and it is very difficult to join hydrocarbon residues to terminals of the polymer chain by such a process, thus the process has no value as a process of producing surface active materials.
On the other hand, it is well known that when a five-membered ring carbonate and compounds having active hydrogen such as alcohols, phenols and the like are reacted with each other under heating, using a base or an acid as a catalyst, decarboxylation takes place, resulting in hydroxyetherization or formation of polyether.
The present inventors have made it clear that though in prior art processes of polymerizing ethylene carbonate the decarboxylation reaction takes place violently to give polyether alone, the polymerization of ethylene carbonate using a charged neutral complex [e.g. (C.sub.4 H.sub.9).sub.2 Sn(OCH.sub.3).sub.2 ] or an ate-complex [e.g. NaSn(OCH.sub.3).sub.5 ] proceeds while suppressing the decarboxylation reaction to a considerable extent, thereby forming a polyether carbonate [--COOC.sub.2 H.sub.4 OC.sub.2 H.sub.4 O--.sub.n ].
However, such a polymerization proceeds only very slowly and the obtained product has no hydrocarbon residue at the terminals thereof and thus the product does not have surface active properties.